October 20, 2005
There is an old Franciscan tradition which you may be interested in knowing. It dates back to the early 15 th century and its origins are attributed to a novice. The story goes like this:
There was a young man who had a deep love of Our Lady and to show his devotion he was fond of weaving a crown of flowers to adorn her image. After joining the Franciscans, he was unable to continue his former practice because of the responsibilities and demands of community life.
At a certain point during his novitiate, the young friar was assailed by temptations to abandon his vocation and leave the community. Then an astonishing thing happened. He received a visitation from the Blessed Virgin Mary herself! She encouraged him to remain steadfast in his vocation reminding him of the Franciscan Joy to which he was called. She bid the troubled novice to meditate on the 7 chief joys of her life as he prayed 7 decades of the Holy Rosary. In doing so, he would weave a crown of flowers for her with his prayers. Thus a new form of the Rosary was born – The Franciscan Crown.
The 7 joys of Mary are:
The Annunciation
The Visitation
The Nativity
The Adoration of the Magi
The Finding in the Temple
The Meeting of Mary and Jesus after the Resurrection
The Assumption and Coronation of Our Lady
It is also traditional to pray two Hail Marys at the end of the seventh decade, making the total number of Hail Marys 72 in honor of the 72 years Our Lady was believed to have lived on earth before her assumption into Heaven.
Let us pray for one another during this month of the Holy Rosary!
Sr. Clare Marie Matthiass, CFR
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